Could there have been a dumber career move than the decision by Nicholas II to relieve the
Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich as
commander-in-chief of the Russian armies in August 1915 and
personally take command of the armies, leaving St. Petersburg and
control of the
government to Aleksandra and Rasputin?

A grandson of
Tsar Nicholas I, the Grand Duke had lengthy military
experience dating back to the Russo-Turkish war of 1877-78 where he
had distinguished himself while serving on the staff of his father, the
Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich (the older). After the Russo-Turkish War, the Grand
Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich (the younger) worked his way
up through the ranks of the army until he became inspector general of the
cavalry and then commander of military forces around
St. Petersburg.

The Grand
Duke played a critical role during the 1905 Revolution. "With
anarchy spreading and the future of the dynasty at stake, the Czar
had a choice of instituting the reforms suggested by
Count Sergei Witte or imposing a military dictatorship. The only man with the prestige to
keep the allegiance of the army in such a coup was the Grand Duke. The
Czar asked him to assume the role of a military dictator. In a
emotional scene at the palace, Nicholas refused, drew his pistol and
threatened to shoot himself on the spot if the Czar did not endorse
Witte's plan. This act was decisive in forcing Nicholas II to
agree to
the reforms." (wikipedia)

When
war broke out in August 1914, the tsar appointed the Grand Duke as
commander-in-chief of all Russian military forces even though the Grand Duke had
never actually commanded an army in the field before. As commander he was
was handicapped by the fact that he had had no part in the planning and
preparations for war (i.e., the plans for a campaign in East Prussia
that turned into a disaster). He also had to deal with the army's unbelievably
inadequate communications system. "Once his commanders were dispatched to the
field he had little further control over their actions, although he remained
publicly (and officially) responsible for their consequences." (www.firstworldwar.com/bio/nikolai.htm)

In May 1915, the
German breakthrough as Gorlice resulted in huge Russian casualties and a
headlong retreat. Russian forces were plagued by an appalling lack
of ammunition and weapons; again factors beyond the control of the
Grand Duke.

Although
the Grand Duke had served rather competently, especially given the
logistical and communications problems with which he had to deal, in late August
1915 (5 September 1915), the tsar informed the Grand Duke
by letter that he was personally taking command of the Russian armies: "My
duty to my country,
which has been entrusted to me by God, impels me to-day, when the enemy has
penetrated into the interior of the Empire, to take the supreme command of
the active forces and to share with my army the fatigues of war, and to
safeguard with it Russian soil from the attempts of the enemy."

This
meant that the tsar left Petrograd for army headquarters at Mogilev to
personally oversee military operations--operations that, I will add, were not going too well. In other words, he had
removed the extremely popular Grand Duke from command; he had left Aleksandra and
Rasputin to run affairs in St. Petersburg; and the tsar now
received personal blame for the unending string of catastrophes
suffered by the armies in 1915 and 1916. "In 1916,
two million soldiers were killed or seriously wounded,
and one third of a million taken prisoners."

Grand Duke Nikolai
Nikolaevich took command of Russian armies operating in the Caucasus
against the Turks, where he performed very well. He escaped from
Russia after the 1917 Revolutions and fled first to Italy, eventually
settling in France. He died on 5 January 1929 at Antibes, France.

ps. During the difficult days of
February 1917, it was the Grand Duke, who again played an influential role, as
he had done in 1905, by personally advising
that Nicholas II abdicate the throne following the February riots in the capital.

Other Resources:

See his
genealogy (follow the line from
Nikolai I to Nicholas (brother to Aleksandr II) to the Grand Duke